


Kiss Me 5 Ways

by ohokayrhink



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: M/M, Roommates, Short, Sweet, college freshman, kiss, rhink
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:00:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23750464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohokayrhink/pseuds/ohokayrhink
Relationships: Rhett McLaughlin/Link Neal
Comments: 2
Kudos: 36





	1. Eskimo

"Rhett, what's an eskimo kiss?"

The older boy muted the TV and turned to Link, who was reading a book beside him on the couch. He tilted his head and frowned. "Why do you want to know?" He asked. It was such a strange question.

"Read here." Link held up his book and pointed to a specific part of one of the paragraphs. Rhett read through it, in which two of the characters gave each other an eskimo kiss before leaving. He pulled back, and Link was still wearing that puzzled expression.

"An eskimo kiss is like this." Rhett leaned forward and gently touched his nose to Link's own, pulling back after a second.

Link blinked twice, then looked down at his book. "I don't get it." He said after a moment.

"What do you mean?" Rhett asked. He'd just given his friend the type of kiss he was confused about, so what else didn't he understand?

"I mean, if they were that close, why wouldn't they just kiss normally?" He clarified.

"Because people who were exploring cold regions had protective winter gear covering their faces, so they _couldn't_ kiss someone on the lips." Rhett explained. "Instead, they would touch their noses to each other in place of a normal kiss. That's why it's called an eskimo kiss; only your nose and your eyes were exposed, if that." Rhett told Link.

"Oh." Link replied.

Rhett turned to look at him, but Link had pulled the book up so it was blocking his view of Rhett.

Good thing, too. Rhett might not have ever stopped teasing Link if he could see the blush on his face.


	2. Hands

Link watched as Rhett idly played with his hands in the glow of the TV. Another late night, another night for them to just relax. It had started off simple; pass the time until they were sleepy. The TV went from playing actual shows to infomercials, and it was inaccurate to say it was late. Instead, it was early in the new day, even if the sun hadn't come up yet.

Maybe Rhett was tired, which was why Link excused his odd fixation with his hands. At first, Rhett had simply been sitting close to him. Then his hand had brushed against Link's-and they'd looked at each other before turning back to the show-, and then he'd picked it up with his and began slowly running his fingers over every part of Link's hand.

His fingertips traced the lines of Link's palm, and Rhett ran them along the underside of his fingers, admiring the soft, warm feel of Link's fingers on his. His thumb glided over each fingernail, and Rhett closed Link's hand into a fist as it left his index finger. Rhett raised it to his lips and pressed a kiss to Link's knuckles when Rhett saw Link watching him. They maintained eye contact, and after a moment Rhett quietly murmured, "You have nice hands."

He opened Link's hand and interlaced his fingers with his friend's, then turned back to the TV as Rhett rested his head on Link's shoulder. Link looked down at him, then slowly gave his hand a squeeze before turning back to the TV.


	3. Shin

Link should've known better by now. The combined act of reading and walking always guaranteed him bumping into something. Other people, misplaced objects, his bed, the corners of walls… he'd successfully managed to knock into something while he held his book up and walked.

But he was certain he wouldn't this time! Link had successfully left his room, avoided the walls, cleanly walked through the doors, and even walked all the way around the couch as he kept his eyes on the page. It seemed like today would be the first day he'd get away with walking and reading.

His confidence was his downfall, because his shin caught on the corner of the coffee table just as he was about to sit down on the couch.

"Son of a bitch!" Link hissed as he sat down, more out of annoyance that he'd bumped into something than actual pain.

"You okay?" Rhett asked. He was sitting on the couch too, but Link hadn't noticed because he was reading from a magazine instead of watching TV.

"I'm fine." Link told him. Truthfully there was still a slight sting, and Link reached down to rub his hand over his leg to soothe it.

Rhett pushed Link's hand away and pulled his leg over to him. Rhett gave a quick kiss to his shin, and gave Link his leg back. Looking up, he gave Link a cheeky smile before going back to his magazine.

For some reason, the pain had faded, even though Link didn't do anything to it.


	4. Forehead

Rhett sat up in bed, yawning and stretching. He looked over at his alarm clock; 3:23 a.m.

He stood up and shivered, missing the warmth of his bed as he left his room and went over to Link's room. He didn't knock, just opened the door and stepped inside quietly. Link was sitting up, his knees drawn to his chest. "Hey."

Link didn't react. Rhett walked over and sat down on the edge of his bed. "Another nightmare?"

Link nodded. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

Link shook his head. He felt ridiculous and embarrassed as a college student to still be so easily afraid. Rhett reached over to place a hand on Link's shoulder. "Link, I'm not gonna to leave you." Rhett said when he looked up at him.

"How'd you know?" Link asked quietly.

"I heard you scream out." He could still hear the way Link yelled out in fear. "I won't ever leave you." He told Link quietly, shifting so he was sitting closer to Link and facing him more directly.

Link reached up and cupped Rhett's cheek, and he held still as Link probes his face with his fingers gently. Rhett knew what he was doing, Link was reassuring himself that Rhett was here and he wouldn't vanish. Link traced the line of Rhett's jaw, one hand circled around his neck and the other trailed down his chest, resting over his heart and feeling the steady pulse.

Link continued to trail his fingertips over Rhett's body, and he closed his eyes and sighed in comfort. After a moment, Link leaned forward and rested his head against his chest. "Thanks." He mumbled after a few moments had passed. "I feel better now." He said as he leaned back and shifted so he could lay on his side, resting his head on his hand.

Rhett raised an eyebrow.

"That means you can go."

Rhett smirked. "What if I don't wanna?" He half-whined, stretching out beside him on the bed.

Link giggled and pushed Rhett off the bed. Rhett cried out in surprise, letting out a groan when he hit the floor. Once he recovered, he stood up and saw that Link was looking at him with an amused twinkle in his eye. He grinned, and before Link could say anything or push him off again, leaned down and kissed Link's forehead.

"Sweet dreams, Link."


End file.
